Field Trip, Dentist, Work Trip, Basketball, Busy Sunday, Robotics Club, STEM, Soccer, Fun Day, Talent Show

This past week the three youngest had dentist appointments.  Sarah and Daniel got in and out pretty quickly so I didn't get a picture of them.  I did get a quick picture of this ham, though:

 He really enjoys wearing his sunglasses and watching his movie while getting his teeth worked on.

 I am happy to report that none of them had any cavities.  Wahoo!

These past 6 weeks Daniel was able to participate in an after school Robotics Club.  The kids formed different groups and worked together to program their robots.  Daniel was with his friends Luke and Sam.  At the end of the 6 week class they had a school wide STEM day where families could come and see what their students had been working on.  Aaron was pretty interested to see what programming Daniel was able to do.

 Daniel was excited to show us the things he was able to program for his robot.  At the beginning his code kept freezing up which made him a bit frustrated, but he was able to fix it and show us what his robot could do.  Aaron said it was great experience learning how to debug things since that is a lot of what Aaron gets to do at work--haha!

 It was able to move away from obstacles and flash different lights.

 Here's a short video of a few things his robot was able to do:

At the end of the class he got a certificate and a treat so you can't beat that, right?!

 The other grades had some other after school programs the kids could do as well.  Noah wasn't interested in them.  Sarah wanted to try it out, but they were all at the same time her dance was so it didn't work out for her.  Maybe next time.  They were able to see what the other grades did at the STEM day, though.  They were able to do some computer programming when they checked out the computer lab.

I LOVE that the schools are now really encouraging STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) for the kids.  I think it's great.

Daniel had his last basketball game last Saturday.  It was nice to watch him play, but I won't lie, it will be nice to have our Saturdays back!  Here's Daniel throwing in the ball for his team:

 After Daniel's basketball game we came back home to find Sophie snuggled up with Matthew.  This doesn't happen very often.  Matthew loves Sophie so much and is always trying to pick her up which she doesn't really like too often.  Most times she will try to hide because she wants her alone time.  I know exactly how she feels--haha!  Anyway, when we came home and found her curled up with Matthew we knew Matthew was in heaven.

 Saturday evening Aaron and Daniel went to a Jazz game.  In participating in the Jr. Jazz basketball program each participant gets two free tickets to a Jazz basketball game.  The game was last Saturday night in Salt Lake.  Since you basically have to pay to park most places by the Vivint Smart Home Arena (it will always be the Delta Center as far as I am concerned) they decided to bite the bullet and pick up some dinner at Crown Burgers so they could park in their parking lot for free.  Daniel ordered an adult sized Crown Burger meal.  Aaron wondered if he would be able to finish it all since it was a lot of food.  Here they are before they started eating their huge meals:

 Daniel was hungry enough and ate everything which was surprising.

 Next it was on to the basketball game.  They had to walk over to the arena in the snow.  I guess winter has decided to finally show up a few months late--haha!

 They walked around looking at different things before getting to their seats.  Daniel's feet (the same size as mine) are a lot smaller than the basketball players as you can see:

 They walked by the sports commentators at the game:

Finally made it to their nosebleed seats:

 Their view:

They even were featured on the Jumbotron:

 While they were at the game I was left behind at home with sick kids.  Boo!  Josh actually had a high fever and felt miserable.  He doesn't get sick very often thank goodness.  I knew he felt pretty bad when he didn't go on his pancake run that morning with his friends.  Every so often on a Saturday morning a bunch of Cross Country runner kids will go for an early 10 mile morning run and then to someone's house for a pancake breakfast afterward.  When Josh stayed home from the pancake run Saturday morning we knew he must be pretty sick--poor guy!  He spiked a fever Friday night and it stayed around for a few days.  It finally broke Sunday night.

I felt bad because he had signed up to have the missionaries over for dinner Sunday evening, but had to cancel since we didn't want to get the missionaries sick.  We still fixed the nice dinner that we had planned for the missionaries, but it was just for our family instead.  Aaron got some help in preparing the ribs from Noah:

 Thankfully everyone woke up feeling better and without a fever Monday morning.  That was good since we had to take Aaron to the airport for a work trip.  The kids had Monday off from school because it was a teacher prep day.  After dropping Aaron off at the airport I took the kids down to the Monte Beane Museum down at BYU.  In looking at all the animals we found Daniel's spirit animal.  It was a duck with some pretty sweet hair---haha!  Daniel made sure I took a picture of it so we could show Aaron since he wasn't with us.

 It was fun to walk around and look at the different displays:

 Of course you can't have serious pictures with crazy kids like mine:

 While we were down there we visited the Escher exhibit again.  It was pretty cool.

 We visited the cougar bench in the bookstore as well:

 We picked some Cookies and Cream milk up from the creamery for everyone since it is pretty yummy:

 On the way home we stopped by Cabella's in Lehi to check out the huge fish tanks:

 As well as the stuffed animal area, too:

 We picked up lunch at McDonald's on the way home:

 We made it home in time for Noah's first soccer practice.  When one sport ends another starts right up.  No rest for the weary!  Noah and Daniel have started soccer for the spring season.  Here's Noah at his first practice.  He is number 3 in the picture:

 Tuesday Sarah had a field trip to the Natural History Museum and the Capitol building down in Salt Lake.  I was able to go along as a chaperone.  Our group decided to start at the top of the museum and work our way down.  Here we are checking out the weather station and the beautiful view on the 5th floor of the museum:

 I really like that museum.  They have all kinds of cool things for everyone to see:

 They had a seismograph that would show the different waves/force if you jumped on the ground.  Sarah and her friend had fun seeing how high they could make the wave show up--if that makes sense:

 They also had an infrared camera.  You can see me and the girls heat signature:

 Sarah's hair:

 Next we went over to the Capitol Building to have lunch and a tour:

 We had a really good tour guide that took us into the different rooms of the Capitol Building.  Here's the Senate room:

 Judicial Room:

 A replica of the Liberty Bell:

 Here's Sarah's class.  They were one of five 4th grade classes from our school that went on the field trip that day.

 It was a busy day, but a really fun field trip.  I was glad I was able to go along with Sarah.

Aaron had a work trip to Florida last week.  He had some travel hiccups/problems, but finally made it to Florida late Monday night.  The next day he sent me a picture of the view from his hotel room:

 He says he would rather be home with his family than travel, but when I see a picture/view like this I wonder....haha!

It doesn't help when I get a gorgeous picture from Florida while I am freezing at Daniel's first soccer practice in the cold, wet sleet.

 The next day Aaron texted a picture of the view from his restaurant he had dinner at:

 He got to try a soft shelled crab sandwich.  I am pretty proud of him.  I enjoy seafood, but Aaron doesn't usually care for it.  However, he is learning to try new things and decided to go out of his comfort zone to try the soft shelled crab sandwich.  He said it was okay.  Maybe I will make a seafood lover out of him eventually--haha!

 All I know is it was probably better than the leftovers we were eating at home for dinner....

The next night was crazy!  I was supposed to be in three different places at once.  It is hard being a single parent on such nights!  Luckily, G&G T were able to come help me out.  They did the running around at Noah's soccer game and taking Matthew and Josh to young mens while I attended Jr. High registration with Daniel.  Life is going by so fast!  I still see Daniel as my sweet 8 year old--how can he be registering for Jr. High?!?

 After attending the welcome meeting for all the parents they let us then go visit with the possible teachers of the different classes they had a choice of taking.  After visiting with the teachers Daniel picked out his classes for next year.

After we turned in his registration form I dropped Daniel off at the mutual activity and came home to relieve G&G T.  I was so grateful for their help!  The mutual activity was a talent show.  Daniel teamed up with his two friends to do a funny lip sync of two different songs.  Daniel is the one wearing the sweet gray wig in the picture:

 Josh played the piano:

 And lip synced to a song for his talents:

 Matthew sang and danced for his talent:

 I am so introverted that the thought of getting up and participating in a talent show scares me.  I have no idea where my kids came from because they actually enjoy performing.  This is definitely a case for nature not nurture if you know what I mean.  I am glad things like that don't scare them, though.

Josh had a band concert Thursday night.  Here he is before the concert started:

 Here's his band class:

 They also combined with both band classes from the high school to play a piece together.  Unfortunately between Josh's 3rd and 4th song he dropped his trumpet and dented it which made it not playable.  DOH!  For the last song where they combined with both high school bands Josh wasn't able to play since his trumpet was broken.  He was afraid to tell me what had happened, but I wasn't too upset.  We actually had insurance on his trumpet to protect for such accidents.  I was relieved because we had almost cancelled the insurance the week before.  That is when procrastination is our friend.  Good thing I procrastinated cancelling that insurance or else we would have been in trouble.

 I dropped off his trumpet Saturday to get fixed.  Hopefully it will be done by his next concert which is next week.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  We are also rethinking whether we want to cancel that insurance on his trumpet or not....

Last week Daniel had his World's Fair we got to check out.  However, he almost wasn't able to participate.  He needed to get his display completed by last Tuesday, but he forgot to bring home his materials over the weekend.  Since they had Monday off from school, he was not prepared to turn in his backdrop when it was due Tuesday.  He came home from school Tuesday in a panic since he HAD to get his back drop in by the next day or risk getting kicked out of Student Youth Council.  Again since Aaron was out of town it fell on me to drop everything to help him out.  Don't you love how things like this become the parent problem when it really originally is the kid's problem?!  Anyway, we spent all of Tuesday night putting his backdrop together.  He was able to turn it in Wednesday and everything was hunky dory again.  Friday we were able to go and see his display and hear him talk about his country of Finland.

 Here's the dang backdrop that caused all the drama Tuesday night:

It was fun to see all the 6th graders and their different countries.  Aaron had gotten in from his work trip late the night before so I was glad he was able to come and see Daniel's presentation with me.

Saturday morning Daniel was doing the 'Floss' dance move when Aaron asked him how he did it.  Daniel tried to teach Aaron, but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks--haha!  He immediately stopped trying when he saw I had taken a picture, but that was a photo op too good to pass up--haha!

 Saturday there was a Fiiz truck out and about.  The kids begged to stop by and how can refuse some Fiiz?!  Since it was a promotion for a business the drinks and cookies were FrEe which is music to my ears.  The kids loved picking out their own drinks and cookies.

 Yesterday was a busy day for my family.  A few weeks ago the bishopric had asked Matthew to speak in church as a youth speaker.  Of course Matthew was super excited.  They planned to have him speak March 25 which was yesterday.  Once he knew the date he went and invited everyone and their brother to come and hear him speak.  Amazingly enough quite a few people who were not in our ward, but from school came to hear him.  He was so excited seeing his friends at our church.  He struggled containing his excitement through preparing and blessing the sacrament.  When it came time for him to speak he jumped up and flapped his arms for a while before he could calm himself down enough to speak.  We let him write his own talk.  He actually did a great job. There were only a few areas that need a bit of polish in his talk, but the rest of it was all his own writing.  He was asked to speak on the Word of Wisdom.  Here's his talk:

My name is Matthew Mancil. For those that don’t know me I am the ward’s GPS. I also love trains. I love dogs as well. I have 3 brothers and 1 sister and I have a dog. My dogs name is Sophie. We like to go places. Sometimes I memorize new exits of highways when we go. I go to Camp Kostopulos every year, a camp for kids with disabilities. I also have autism and I have lots and lots of friends from school. I’m 16 years old. I was asked to speak on the word of wisdom. The word of wisdom is a special commandment of god. We need to obey it by getting enough sleep, eating nutritious food and exercise regularly. We should never drink coffee or tea. We should never drink alcohol and be addicted to drugs. We should not drink strong drinks. Honoring the word of wisdom will give you blessings of a healthy body, a sharp mind, a blessing of obedience, and you can think better. You have control over your life and remain free from harmful addictions. You can get guided by the Holy Ghost. You will be prepared to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. Also practice balance and moderation in all aspects of your life. Also avoid extremes that could lead to eating disorders. Avoid dangerous activities that put your body at risk of serious injury. Tobacco/alcohol/coffee/tea products can be addictive so don’t do them ever. You should avoid any chemical, drink, drug, or dangerous practice that is used to produce a “high” affect that may harm your body or mind. President Russell M Nelson once said, “From an initial experiment thought to be trivial, a vicious cycle may follow. From trial comes a habit. From habit comes dependence. From dependence comes addiction. Its grasp is so gradual. Enslaving shackles of habit are too small to be sensed until they are too strong to be broken.”

 Use of the substances can destroy and weaken your body. Addictions do destroy your body so stay away from them. Staying away from addictions can keep you and others safe and stay with the companionship with the holy ghost. If you are struggling, seek help with you parents and bishop now. Drinking alcohol can lead to alcoholism which can lead to losing families. Your emotional health is also important.  Occasional sadness and disappointment are a part of this mortal life. However, if you have any depression, anxiety, hopelessness, or sad feelings, you should seek help from your parents and bishop immediately.  You should also seek help from Jesus and Heavenly Father through prayer. The word of wisdom has helped me out by being social with a lot of people, being full of energy, having the ability to work, having the ability to exercise, and learning something from school, church, and seminary. As many of you are in my neighborhood and my friends, you see me walking my dog. 

I challenge all of you to start obeying the word of wisdom like President Monson said to us in priesthood session when he said, “Brethren, may we care for our bodies and our minds by observing the principles set forth in the Word of Wisdom, a divinely provided plan. With all my heart and soul, I testify of the glorious blessings which await us as we do.”  I bear testimony that we have a living prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who leads and guides this church.  I know that Jesus is our savior, redeemer, and lord who suffered and gave his life for us, and everyone who is suffering from any addictions, through his sacrifice may repent of their sins. May we choose to follow the word of wisdom, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

After his talk he came off the stand to sit with us.  He had a hard time not turning around to look at his friends.  It was really sweet, though.  After sacrament was over he ran over to see his group of friends and was just squealing with excitement.  Aaron tried to calm him down and tell him to relax, but he was too excited.  A couple of kids' parents who had come to see him speak came to talk with me and Aaron afterward.  They told us how amazing they though Matthew was and thanked us for sharing him with them.  It made me tear up.  One mom even came over and gave me a huge hug and told me how much her daughter just loves Matthew.  It was something I really needed to hear.  Sometimes I get caught up in the daily stressors from raising a kid with disabilities and I get discouraged.  So to hear such nice things from kids that work with Matthew at school it really lightened my heart and showed me that I need to look at the many positives and try not to dwell on the negatives and trials that come with raising a child with disabilities.  All in all it was a good experience for everyone.

Later on that day at church Sarah was asked to give a talk in Primary.  Aaron and I watched Sarah's talk and when it was over we tried to leave primary when they called me up out of the blue so they could sing a happy birthday song to me.  That caught me completely off guard and I guess I blushed a  thousand times red.  Aaron just sat in the back and laughed at me while the primary sang to me.  The primary sang to me since I am in primary as an Activity Days leader.  Anyway, after that we went over to the Deacon's class where they set apart a new Deacon class presidency where Daniel was made the secretary.  After church Noah got to come back that afternoon for his baptism interview with the bishop.  It was a busy day for our family, but a good day, too.  Since  it is Noah's birthday soon he got sung to in primary, too.  Here's his cute primary birthday gift which is a cute cereal bowl that says, "I am a Child of God" filled with a few small boxes of cereal:

A few weeks ago the English students of the Jr. High had a chance to see the Hunchback of Notre Dame down the Hale Center Theater.  Since they didn't have enough seats for everyone it was first come first served at signing up.  Josh really wanted to go so he turned in his permission form and money quickly.  He took a selfie while he was waiting for the show to start.  He just told me he went to the play when I asked him about it.  It wasn't until I saw this picture that I saw he was quite the lady killer that day, too.  Wahoo Josh!

The next couple months should be pretty interesting and crazy.  Aaron will be traveling quite a bit so I will dip my foot in the pool of single parenting and hope that me and the kids survive the ensuing chaos that will be the next two months.  Wish me luck because I have feeling I will need it!!